Jewish Foods:
Dining in the Holy Land - 2000 Years Ago

by Daniel Rogov

Regardless of whether the cultural
and religious lives of people are governed by the Hebrew,
Islamic, Greek, Russian or Armenian Orthodox, Buddhist
or Vietnamese calendars,
many public events the world over are determined by
the Gregorian Calendar. As is well known, in accordance
with that calendar, the new year starts on January 1st,
and is celebrated primarily on the night of December
31st. The celebrations for this year were special, for
in addition to marking the end of a century, we celebrated
the beginning of a new millennium. What is not so well
known about the celebrations that mark the end of a
year (or a millennium), is that this phenomenon has
long been a sore point among the members of the clergy
of nearly all the faiths, who all agree that the roots
of New Year's Eve celebrations are distinctly pagan
in nature.

As long ago as 500 BCE,
Romans believed that loudness, lewdness and at least
a modicum of drunkenness were necessary to celebrate
the onset of the new year. It was thought that such
behavior would confuse Pan and the other malicious gods,
thus preventing them from interfering in the everyday
lives of mortals for the year to come. Half a millennium
later, the Goths adopted a similar belief, thinking
that such behavior on the eve of the new year was a
sure way to frighten away any evil demons that might
be left over from the year that had passed.

January 1st has not always marked
the onset of the year. Because the ancient Romans began their year in March (more for the convenience
of the tax collectors than out of respect to the motion
of the planets), such words as September, October, November
and December, meaning the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th months,
had a rational meaning. In fact, only since the reform
of the calendar in the 16th century, has January 1st
been accepted as New Year's Day.

Nor has the onset of the new year
always implied celebrations, promises and hopes for
the future. Since the time of the ancient Greeks,
the first day of the year has been considered by many
to be the most appropriate day of the year for bribing
local officials. Even today in some parts of the world,
it is considered appropriate for wealthy citizens (or
their servants), owners of small businesses and other
local entrepreneurs to call on local officials to pay
their respects and to share a cup of coffee or tea as
a token of goodwill. In France,
perhaps as an offshoot of this tradition, adults enjoy
exchanging gifts on January 1st.

There are other names given to the
last night of the year, the origins of which are unclear.
Even though Europeans (and some Israelis and North Americans
in recent years) have come to know the night of December
31st as 'Sylvester', this appelation is relatively new,
having its roots in 18th century France. Whether the
Sylvester in question is an otherwise obscure French
saint, the Roman-Catholic pope who is said to have brought
a dead bull back to life or the maiden name of the mother
of Dom Perignon, the man who discovered the process
of making sparkling Champagne, is not known.

Whatever, the third millennium has
arrived and from the culinary point of view, it is interesting
to look back and examine the dining habits of people
in the Holy Land 2,000 years ago. Before we begin our
voyage, keep in mind that the people who lived in Jerusalem,
Jericho and other places in the Holy Land two millennia
ago dined quite well. In addition to having excellent
markets filled with fresh vegetables, fruit, poultry,
lamb and fish, the narrow streets of the ancient cities
were lined with numerous stalls where vendors sold fried
fish, pickled cucumbers and freshly grilled meats. Moreover,
the roads from Jerusalem to Jericho and from Hebron to Jaffa were lined with stands where grilled lamb, pickled watermelon
rind and cakes made from chickpeas were readily available.
Whether for at-home dining or while travelling on the
road, hungry men and women had no problem finding good
things to eat. What may surprise us is that many of
the dishes prepared then are marvelously appropriate
even today, especially for celebrating the end of one
millennium and the beginning of another.

The Best Known of All Meals

In addition to having been recorded
in the New Testament by Saints Mark and Matthew, "The Last Supper,"
the last meal shared by Jesus and the twelve disciples, has also been immortalized
by dozens of well known artists. The best known representation
of that meal is probably the fresco painted by Leonardo
da Vinci between 1495 - 1498 on the wall of the Monastery
of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.

Da Vinci was not the only artist who
tried to capture the mood and meaning of this meal.
In addition to frescoes, paintings and etchings by Raphael,
Titian, Correggio, Tintoretto, Rembrandt and Salvadore
Dali, the last public meal of Jesus has also been portrayed
in hundreds of 5th and 6th century Byzantine mosaics,
in a 13th century bas relief on the eastern transept
of the Cathedral in Strasbourg, and in a 15th century
bronze relief by Donatello, found in the church of San
Giovanni in Siena.

Even though Jesus' last supper is
one of the most frequently portrayed religious events
in history, no one is absolutely sure what was eaten
at that meal. Although it is impossible to know precisely
what dishes were served, both the New Testament and
historical records give us many clues. According to
the New Testament (Matthew
26 and Mark 14),
the meal was intended to celebrate Passover,
and both accounts agree that two of Jesus' disciples
had come to Jerusalem in order to find a home in which Jesus could enjoy the
Seder. The year was probably 33 CE,
and even then the holiday was a commemoration of the
Hebrews' freedom from slavery in ancient Egypt nearly
two thousand years before Jesus was born.

There is no reason to believe that
the meal upon which Jesus dined would have been different
than that enjoyed by other Jews at the onset of this
first millennium. Thus, matzot (unleavened bread), a
pitcher of wine, salted water and a small bowl of marror
(bitter herbs) would have been on the table. Because
in Jesus' time the holiday also marked the time of the
early spring harvest, the table may have been decorated
with fresh fruit, green almonds and walnuts as well
as sprigs of freshly picked herbs such as thyme, rosemary
and coriander.

As was the case in nearly all Jewish
homes of that time, when Jesus and his disciples sat
down, they would have found the table already set with
all the foods of the meal. In addition to the serving
plates that held the food and the goblets for the wine,
little else would have been on the table. Napkins were
not yet in use and the fork had not yet been invented.
Each guest would have brought his own knife for cutting
meat, but most of the eating would have been done by
hand. Because this made for sticky fingers, servants
were available to offer bowls of water in which the
guests could occasionally clean their fingers.

Between the 1st and 3rd centuries,
it was traditional in all homes to start with a simple
vegetable soup. The contents of the second course, however,
were determined largely by the economic status of the
host. Because Jesus was an honored guest, the owner
of the home in which this particular meal was served
would have been sure to have prepared roast lamb, the
most highly-valued of dishes. It was not traditional
to serve a dessert course, but celebratory meals such
as this came to an end after the guests ate the fresh
fruit and nuts that had been put on the table for decorations.

Apples and Excesses

The Romans who occupied the Holy Land at the onset of the first
millennium were not quite as moderate or decorous in
their personal behavior or dining habits as was the
native population. It is well known, for example, that
in 40 BCE, when Herod fled from Jerusalem to escape from Antigonus II (Mattathias) who had been
made king by the Parthians, he went to the high hill
of Masada. What
is not so broadly known is that Herod made his safe home into one of the most luxurious palaces
ever constructed in the Middle East.

After making the move from Jerusalem and installing his family in rough quarters on Masada, Herod visited Rome. Upon his return,
according to the Jewish historian Josephus,
"he built there a fortress as a refuge, suspecting
a twofold danger: peril on the one hand from the Jews
lest they should depose him and restore their former
dynasty to power; and the even more serious threat posed
by Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt." Between 37 and 31
BCE, Herod transformed
the rock of Masada into a mighty fortress. What Josephus fails to mention is that Herod also transformed it into a palace where pleasures of
every sort might be freely pursued.

It must be understood that the pleasures
of wealthy Romans involved three things: food, wine
and sexual promiscuity. Thus, following precedents established
by Lucullus and Alexander
the Great, both of whom were well known gastronomes, Masada became
renowned for its ten-hour banquets - orgiastic feasts
- where a party might begin with hors d'oeuvres of chickens,
ducks, geese, hares, pigeons, turtledoves, partridges
and young goats. This was followed traditionally with
entertainment provided by naked girl dancers, and then
by a second course of pigs stuffed with thrushes, ducks,
warblers, pea puree, oysters and scallops, all consumed
to the accompaniment of troupes of acrobats tumbling
among swords, breathing fire from their mouths and acting
out obscene parodies. Later courses included roast boars
and oxen and then, when the eating tapered off, the
drinking began in earnest and the dancing girls did
far more than dance. "Apples and fornication,"
wrote one of Herod's guests, "were the most popular
of last courses."

Based on traditions adopted from the Greeks, such feasts
were traditionally divided into two parts: the first,
in which one primarily ate; and the second, the symposium,
in which one primarily drank, talked or otherwise amused
oneself. Modern-day professors and students will be
pleased to know that the original symposium (from the
Greek for "drinking party") began in earnest
at the end of the eating. When this habit was first
adopted, Xenophon wrote that "drink, discussion,
games and fornication were equal parts of the well-conducted
symposium." Atheneus speculated that the best symposia
would be identified as those where most of the guests
"fell into a sexually-induced drunken sleep before
the evening had ended."

The main meal at Masada took place, as it did in Rome,
during the mid- or late-afternoon, the guests reclining
on couches placed about the table. These couches had
an incline at one end so that the heads of the diners
rose above the level of the board or table. Diners rested
on their left arms and reached for food with the right.
Couches were generally grouped about three sides of
the table, leaving the fourth side open for service
and entertainers, and the place of honor was the right-hand
couch opposite the empty side of the table.

One may have noted that to this point
there has been no mention of the presence of women at
the dining table. This is because Roman men had determined
that feasting was an activity too important to be shared
with women. When they finally decided to allow women
to join them, it was not so much out of a sense of fairness
but because they thought that female companionship would
be good for the digestion.

As Roman decadence soared, tastes
became more jaded and the symposia deteriorated into
little more than orgies. Despite this, some of the dishes
enjoyed by the Romans were actually quite delicate and
have maintained their popularity to this day. The following
recipe is a sample of a popular Roman dish known to
have been served at Masada.

More Cultured Roman Influences

At the onset of the first millennium,
the poor folk of the cities and the peasants in the
countryside dined pretty similarly to all Mediterranean
peoples of that time - their diet heavily made up of
bread, rice, barley, lentils, chickpeas, eggplant, artichokes,
onions, garlic, olive oil, yoghurt and, when they could
afford it, the meat of lambs and goats. The middle-classes
and the rich, however, often tried to emulate the dining
habits of the Romans, and one of the heroes of the land
was the Roman epicurean named Apicius.

Actually there were three great Roman
epicureans with that name and, despite popular folklore,
all were more famous for their gluttony than their good
taste or culinary achievements. The first Apicius lived
during the reign of Sulla, the second under Augustus
and Tiberius and the third under Trajan. The Apicius
that attained the greatest fame was the second, Gavius
Apicius, who spent enormous sums on dining and entertaining
and who invented many new dishes. It is possible that
it was also this Apicius who founded the "school
for good fare" referred to by the dramatist-philosopher
Seneca.

In addition to being a well-known
public figure, Apicius was also inordinately fond of
high living. Possibly because his penchant for entertaining
lavishly dominated his life, he built up a mountain
of debts. When he found himself left with an annual
income of only 250,000 sesterces (about $200,000 today),
he felt he could no longer live in the style to which
he had become accustomed and committed suicide by poisoning
himself.

It was also this Apicius who wrote De re Culinaria, the oldest cookbook still in
existence. Most culinary experts today agree that Roman
cooking, whether in Rome or in the Holy Land, was sumptous and magnificent, but
fundamentally barbarious. Because they relied heavily
on vinegar (to hide the smell of spoiled meat), and
heavy, greasy sauces, very few of the dishes so beloved
by Apicius' compatriots would be considered tasty today.
Despite this failing, many modern chefs have named inventions
after Apicius, not so much to honor his gastronomic
knowledge as his extravagant lifestyle.

And Now -
Israel Going into the Third Millennium

Although the culinary influences of
ancient Rome and Greece no longer play a major role
in the daily dining habits of most of the residents
of Israel, it is not at all difficult to plan a meal
that will be ideal for celebrating the onset of the
new millennium. Following are three recipes for such
a meal, one each from a Jewish, Muslim and Christian
source, all completely modern, all delicious and all
highly valued wherever one finds oneself in Israel.
The recipes are designed to serve 4 - 6.

Daniel Rogov is the restaurant and
wine critic for the daily newspaper Ha'aretz.
He is also the senior writer for Wine and Gourmet
Magazine and contributes culinary and wine articles
to newspapers in Europe and the United States.